Elderly Margaret Hughes is living alone in a mansion in Seattle, with only a massive collection of antiques for company, when she meets Wanda Schultz, a young woman with a broken heart who has come to Seattle to search for her wayward boyfriend. Both women are guarding dark secrets and have spent years building up protective armor against the outside world. But as the two begin their tentative dance of friendship, the armor begins to fall away. When Margaret opens her house to the younger woman, she discovers a way to redeem her cursed past, and Wanda learns the true purpose of her cross-country journey.

This exuberant novel is a testament to the saving graces of surrogate families and shows how far the tiniest repair jobs can go in righting the world's wrongs.

Elderly Margaret Hughes is living alone in a mansion in Seattle, with only a massive collection of antiques for company, when she meets Wanda Schultz, a young woman with a broken heart who has come to Seattle to search for her wayward boyfriend. Both women are guarding dark secrets and have spent years building up protective armor against the outside world. But as the two begin their tentative dance of friendship, the armor begins to fall away. When Margaret opens her house to the younger woman, she discovers a way to redeem her cursed past, and Wanda learns the true purpose of her cross-country journey.

This exuberant novel is a testament to the saving graces of surrogate families and shows how far the tiniest repair jobs can go in righting the world's wrongs.